This Baby Name Is a Natural Fit for a Family That Loves to Travel

Kendra and Bill Fogarty live in an RV and move to a new location every few weeks. They travel across the United States, visiting national parks, monuments, and historical sites, while Kendra homeschools their daughters and manages family social media and a podcast. Bill works virtually in the travel industry. Their older daughter, Acadia, was named after Acadia National Park. Their younger daughter, Willamette, was chosen to reflect Willamette National Forest in Oregon and Bill’s legal name, William, with a family pronunciation. Her middle name is Evelyn, and classic middle names provide alternatives if the children dislike their first names. Willa is used more often, and the name’s popularity remains moderate.

"“Right now we're right by Lassen National Park,” Kendra told TODAY.com in a phone interview from California in early May. “Last week we went to Crater Lake in Oregon.” In the four years since they said goodbye to their “dream home” in Ohio, the Fogartys have traveled all over the country. Kendra homeschools the kids and runs the family's social media account and podcast, and Bill has a virtual job in the travel industry."

"“We are intentional about planning visits to see as many National Parks, monuments and historical sites as possible,” Kendra shared. One of those National Parks in Maine inspired the name of their older daughter. Acadia is 9 years old. When the couple became pregnant a second time, they wanted a name that would have the same sort of outdoorsy feel."

"They ended up choosing the name Willamette, both as a tribute to Willamette National Forest in Oregon and a nod to Bill's legal name, William. “I think technically the locals pronounce it Will-AAAH-mette, but we went with our own pronunciation, Will-uh-METTE, for these purposes,” laughed Kendra."

"“We only call her Willamette if she's getting in trouble, basically. So I'm trying to use that name more often, because now she associates it just with being scolded,” Kendra laughed. Though Willamette does not appear on the Social Security Administration's list of top 1,000 baby names through the years, Willa does. It generally ranks somewhere between 300 and 600, which is the sweet spot that indicates that a name is recognizable but not too common."

Read at TODAY.com